Drinking games are a favorite past time among people of all ages. Drinking games are dubbed such name due to participants or players drinking a liquid, usually alcohol wine or beer from a cup. Most of these game involve cups that act as a container for the liquid but where the cup has no other function other than as a cup. A review of the related technologies reveals the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,485 discloses a container lid including a base having a rim adapted to fit onto a container, a raised section projecting above the rim, the raised section including an inverted recess, a domed cover attached to the raised section above the recess to create a compartment within and of substantially the same depth as the container lid, and releasable sealing means between the cover and the raised section to provide access to the compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,177,233 teaches a game of skill involving a cup. The representative cup includes: an aperture communicating with a cavity; and a barrier extending partially about the periphery of the aperture such that a portion of the cup lacking the barrier forms a lateral entrance to the cavity, the barrier having an upwardly and outwardly sloping first portion and a downwardly and outwardly sloping second portion, the first portion being located between the second portion and the aperture.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,651,492 discloses an apparatus for playing a drinking game includes a base support member and a vertical pole extending upwardly from the base support member. A vertically extending backboard is secured to the pole adjacent the top thereof and a plurality of hoops are removably secured to the backboard. Plastic drinking cups are held in each of the hoops. The apparatus further includes a plurality of ping pong balls capable of being tossed into and maintained in the cups. The entire apparatus can be disassembled so that it is portable. That is, the hoops are removably secured to the backboard which is removably secured to the vertical pole. In addition, the vertical pole is comprised of several pole sections that fit together in a telescoping manner. The base includes a carrying handle and functions as a carrying case for holding and transporting the pole sections and the hoops with the backboard serving as a cover for the case.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,805,959 disclosed a cup holder for a drinking game as a triangular multi-cup beverage tray and freezer pack insert that holds and chills multiple cups in a “billiard ball rack” formation for use in the drinking game “Beer-Pong,” “Beirut,” or variations thereof. The cup holder for a drinking game includes cup pockets, indentations or channels in a triangular row formation (front to back) of one cup, two cups, three cups, etc., which are formed in the freezer pack The cup holding freezer pack fits into the triangular tray for added stability. Rubber or neoprene feet are disposed symmetrically on an underside of the bottom of the tray to provide traction during use. Preferably, the placement and depth of the cup pockets provide for the correct orientation of the cups for optimal playing of the drinking game with standard 16-ounce party cups.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,138 teaches a slotted cup holder having multiple slots that is adapted to accommodate a variety of beverage container shapes. The cup holder comprises a cylindrical body having two elongated lateral slots for a cup handle, a semi-circular top anterior slot, a large horizontal bottom anterior slot disposed at the front base of the cylindrical body, and an integrally formed elongated flat appendage that extends outward from the rear base of the cylindrical body. The elongated flat appendage serves to secure the cup holder to an appropriately configured table by sliding the appendage between a table rail and the table. The present invention is designed to accommodate not only traditional non-handled cups, but also handled cups, as well as short and long stem wine glasses. The economy of design of the present invention makes the slotted cup holder both practical and inexpensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,402,092 teaches a drinking cup that has a removable lid with three different types of drink delivery novelties. The first is a rotary drive dispenser. In which fluid is drawn up in a straw. At the top of the straw is a rotary arm, which is free to rotate. As the fluid is brought up through the straw, it is forced out of holes formed in the rotary arm causing the arm spins around the straw. As it rotates, the fluid is dispensed into a sump where a drinking straw is used to remove it. In the second design, fluid rises up through the straw where it exits the straw like a fountain spray. In the third design, a tall tube extends up from the lid. A ball sits in the tube. As the fluid is brought up, the ball is propelled upward inside the tube.
Various systems and methodologies are known in the art. However, their structure and means of operation are substantially different from the present disclosure. The other inventions fail to solve all the problems taught by the present disclosure, that of an innovative cup capable of securing an object under the cup while still functioning as a cup. The prior art do not teach a game that utilizes a cup that has a function other than storing or drinking liquids. The innovative cup design of the present disclosure is one that secures an object while protecting the object from getting wet. At least one embodiment of this invention is presented in the drawings below and will be described in more detail herein.